


Something to Prove

by trysomecats



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alpha Harry, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, Bigotry & Prejudice, Doctor Harry, Doctor Louis, Enemies to Lovers, Hospital Setting, Mpreg Louis, Niall Horan & Louis Tomlinson Friendship, Older Harry, Omega Louis, Rimming, probably some medical inaccuracies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-12
Updated: 2017-11-12
Packaged: 2019-02-01 12:34:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12705087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trysomecats/pseuds/trysomecats
Summary: Louis is the first and only omega to work at Red Valley Medical Center. Despite being more than qualified, he still faces prejudice for his career choice everyday. From patients refusing his treatment to condescending alpha doctors intervening with his work, practicing medicine in Boston is more challenging than Louis had ever thought it would be.





	Something to Prove

**Author's Note:**

> Just a warning: There is a scene with implied rape regarding one of the patients (not any of the boys or known characters)
> 
> Enjoy reading!

 

* * *

 

It was just another typical day on the job, Louis thought to himself as he stared at the angry alpha before him. 

 

“Mr. Nickles, if you’d just allow me to-”

 

“I already said that I won’t have no _omega_ treating me!” The bearded, burly alpha sneered from his position next to the exam table, which he refused to sit down on. 

 

“It’s _just_ a few stitches,” Louis was moments away from losing his patience. “You give me your hand, I put a few sutures in, and you’re done. My status has nothing to do with-”

 

“I said that I _refuse_ to be doctored by an omega!” The man bellowed, and Louis flinched at his angry tone. There was only a thin curtain separating them from the surrounding individuals of the emergency department, so he knew that they were attracting a lot of attention. 

 

“Look, you’re being completely unreason-”

 

The curtain was suddenly pulled aside, startling the both of them. “I’ll take it from here Dr. Tomlinson.”

 

Louis scowled as familiar alpha pheromones filled his senses. “That’s quite alright Dr. Styles, I have everything under control.”

 

“I want _him_!” Mr. Nickles demanded, pointing a finger at Harry Styles, the second head of the ER this morning. He was alpha all around, and also one of the few people in the hospital that Louis wanted nothing to do with. 

 

Even if Dr. Styles was tall, smelled amazing, and was incredibly good-looking with his green eyes and tattoos (Louis never intentionally looked at him shirtless in the locker room, he swears to himself) the alpha intensivist was still a condescending prick. 

 

Now Louis had two people against him. Mr. Nickles continued to glare, and Harry held out his hand expectantly for the medical chart that Louis was holding. The pressure from both alphas soon made him crack. There was no use fighting against thick-headed alpha supremacists, at least not if he wanted to keep his job. Had they not been in a working environment, Louis would have give him a piece of his mind for sure. 

 

“Fine,” Louis thrusted the chart into the alpha doctor’s hand, stalking out rather broodingly. The curtained area was quiet after that, with only Harry’s low tone as he explained the procedure of getting stitches to the man. 

 

Louis went to the next case, and was relieved to see a beta mother with her toddler. Betas were much less picky about who they were treated by. 

 

“My son, I think he’s stuck something up his nose!” The distressed mother told him, looking on the verge of tears. 

 

Ah, an easy case then. 

 

Louis smiled at the little boy, who couldn’t have been older than two. He absolutely loved babies and children, even when they were sickly or hurt. This was a good thing to temporarily take his mind off of what had just happened.

 

“We’ll, I’ll just have a look up his nose then and see what we’re dealing with,” Louis told her, smiling reassuringly. “What’s his name?”

 

“James.”

 

“Alright James love, let’s see what we can find,” He crooned to the tot. “If you could just hold him still in your lap Mrs…”

 

“Jennerson,” The mother answered. 

 

Less than ten minutes later, Mrs. Jennerson and James left, along with the toy lego that had been stuck in the boy’s nostril. 

 

Now Louis had his hour lunch break, as it was just reaching one o’clock and nobody’s life was in immediate danger at the moment. He hung his lab coat in the locker room, scrubbed his hands well, and headed toward the cafeteria. 

 

He was still quite peeved about the incident with Dr. Styles, however the familiar sight of light blonde hair sitting at one of the cafeteria tables made his heart lift a bit higher. Once he bought himself a burger and fries, he went to join the familiar face. 

 

“Lou!” Niall greeted him, though the other omega’s voice was muffled from his mouthful of food. 

 

Niall, in all honesty, fit more than a few omega stereotypes. He was a nurse, for one, doll faced with beautiful blue eyes and pink lips. He was the absolutely perfect nurse, as his bright yet simultaneously gentle personality did well to aid the sick and injured. Niall could get even the meanest person to laugh, Louis was sure.

 

Louis himself couldn’t count all the times he had been questioned _‘why a doctor instead of a nurse?’_ The question was as stupid as it was sexist. There was nothing an alpha doctor could do that an omega doctor couldn’t. 

 

Perhaps twenty years ago omega doctors wouldn’t have had to chance to be hired on as a doctor, but times were changing, and Louis was taking full advantage of that. 

 

He worked as an emergency physician at Red Valley Medical Center, a private hospital on the outskirts of Boston. The job was still relatively new, as he’d only started two weeks ago. It was a small hospital, but it had quite a good reputation. Louis also happened to be the first and only omega doctor working there. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up, which was why he’d moved all the way across the ocean in order to practice medicine in the United States. 

 

Two weeks into his new job, and Louis was already beginning to wonder if he had been too quick to accept the position. America still had quite the conservative view when it came to the expectations of alphas and omegas. It was changing with some of the younger generations, but compared to certain parts of Europe, they were still behind in the times when it came to gender and status roles. 

 

The awful thing was that there were many alphas like Mr. Nickles who Louis had encountered since working here. Perhaps they didn’t all shout or throw fits, but they still gave him this belittling look, and it was a look that Louis hated more than anything. 

 

But the most annoying thing of all was the fact that it wasn’t just the patients who gave him shit. 

 

“I was _completely_ undermined,” Louis bit into his sandwich rather aggressively as he told his only work friend about the incident that happened before lunch. “He was all _‘I’ll take it from here,’_ as if I couldn’t fucking handle a few stitches!” 

 

“I wouldn’t get too upset over it,” Niall comforted him. “The world is full of arrogant pricks. I wouldn’t even want to deal with someone like that in the first place; You’re lucky Harry was there to take over.”

 

“The only thing Dr. Styles did was make me look like a fool in front of the whole ER.”

 

“I’m sure Harry didn’t mean to offend you. I’ve known him for over two years, he would never purposefully try to annoy you like that.”

 

“I’m sure,” Louis scoffed. 

 

“You said the man was yelling, right? Any honorable alpha would have intervened.”

 

“That still doesn’t make it any better. How am I supposed to do my job if people won’t let me?”

 

“It sounds as if that man wouldn’t have let you treat him whether Harry intervened or not. Look Louis, you’re the first omega doctor Red Valley has ever had. I know for a fact that the hospital’s directors have wanted this place to become more open-minded for awhile now. I know it’s been hard, but everybody here just wants to help in whatever way they can.”

 

Louis relaxed from his tense posture. Niall was right, he shouldn’t get so pent up with anger about this. He was lucky to be here in the first place, and therefore he should be grateful for being here. Besides, it had only been two weeks. 

 

“You’re right. I guess I just don’t want people questioning my abilities because of my status. I didn’t graduate top of my class just to stand around and do nothing.” 

 

Niall stole a fry off his plate. “Just give it some time. It’s absolutely wonderful that the hospital is hiring omega doctors now, but you have to understand that this is all new to everyone.”

 

“Well it’s new to me too,” Louis reminded him. “The clinic that I worked at in London had two other omega doctors, and our boss was beta. It’s weird having so many alphas run things over here.”

 

“Boston’s actually a pretty accepting city as a whole. If you went too far south in the country you wouldn’t even see an omega nurse, let alone a doctor. But that’s just the way things are. We’re doing our part now, and in given time we’ll be viewed to be just as important as alphas someday.”

 

“Have you ever considered becoming a political speaker?” Louis asked in amusement, though his heart did grow lighter at those inspiring words. 

 

“I prefer cleaning out bedpans,” Niall joked. “Speaking of which, I’ve gotta go now. See ya later Dr. Tommo!” 

 

Now alone with his thoughts, Louis felt himself dreading the rest of the day.

 

Harry Styles was the hospital’s intensivist, which meant he usually stuck around the ICU and cared for the critically ill patients. However, the twenty-nine year old alpha spent a lot of time in the ER helping out when they were busy, seeing as he was very talented and “good with his hands” according to other staff members. 

 

To be completely honest, Dr. Styles had made Louis feel on edge ever since their first meeting, which had been on his third day of work. He’d rounded the corner and bumped face first into the chest of a tall, solid form. 

 

Strong hands had landed on his waist and steadied him. _“Easy there. In a hurry?”_

 

Louis scowled in remembrance of the way that his heart had skipped a beat; at how overwhelmed he’d been by the delectable scent of pure powerful alpha. It had scared him, in all honesty. He’d encountered some really nice smelling alphas before, but Dr. Styles had really taken the cake. 

 

None of that mattered though, because Louis realized quickly that the alpha was a condescending prat. Louis could feel it, the way that he was judged by the doctor as he encountered patient after patient. He caught the other doctor staring at him all the time while he treated patients, and it was obvious that he was watching him with the intent to judge. 

 

That was whyStyles did things like steal his patients when he felt that Louis couldn’t handle them. It was as infuriating as it was demeaning, and Louis wanted to call him out on it so badly. There was no use though, because the alpha intensivist was highly regarded at the hospital, whereas Louis was the newbie who happened to be an omega. 

 

Louis could only hope that things would get better over time, once he gained some more credit and respect. One thing he knew for sure was that the day for such a thing to happen could not come fast enough. 

 

* * *

 

The rest of his shift in the ER went by quickly yet dully. There were no more rude alphas, but there had been a particularly nasty beta who caught her finger in her sewing machine. She’s griped at him the whole time while he removed the needle from her skin. 

 

Dr. Styles kept his distance as well, both busy with their own patients, but Louis could still feel the heavy weight of his gaze whenever they were in the same vicinity. 

 

When Louis got to his apartment that evening, his spirits stayed down. At least while he was working he had a distraction. Here at “home” there was nothing to put him in a good mood. He still had lots of unpacking to do, and the small and dingy apartment was nothing like what home should be. 

 

He missed his mum and the girls (plus Ernie) more than anything. Unfortunately from the way things were going, he wouldn’t be able to schedule a proper visit back to England until sometime mid-January. 

 

His new place wasn’t much. It consisted of a bedroom, bathroom, and small connected kitchen and living room area. There was water damage on the ceiling from the apartment above him, the paint was beginning to peel from the walls, and one of the bedroom windows didn’t close correctlyand therefore made the place quite drafty. 

 

Not to mention the location of the apartment itself wasn’t the best. Sometimes Louis feared for his safety when getting off the bus and walking through the neighborhood to his building. It felt like the perfect environment for a potential mugging, or something even worse. 

 

On this particular night he settled for making a microwavable dinner and curling up on his small couch, setting his laptop in front of him and typing Red Valley Medical Center into the search bar. He scrolled through the website, absentmindedly clicking on the list of doctors. There were lots of faces, many he recognized, all with their qualifications and specialties listed. Louis himself had yet to be added to the website, but he figured he was still in the trial-stage of the job and didn’t take it to heart. 

 

There was nothing in particular that prompted him to click on the profile of ‘ _Dr. Harry Edward Styles’_ yet he found himself doing so anyway. He felt a flash of anger as he saw the handsome alpha’s picture, giving the camera a dimpled grin. 

 

Before he could let the face get to him any more than it already had, Louis quickly closed out of it. 

 

* * *

 

The idea came to Louis on the Monday of his third week working at Red Valley. An older mated couple were in because the wife was having stomach pains. Louis suspected that it was an ulcer and wanted to do an endoscopy, but when he informed them, the alpha husband frowned and pulled him aside. 

 

“Look, I don’t mean to cause problems, but is there another on-call physician we can see?”

 

Louis felt his heart sink. “Is there something wrong Mr. Adams?”

 

“My wife is my entire world. I just want her under the _best_ care possible. I’m not doubting your, uh, skills, but I’ve never in my life dealt with an omega doctor before. I want to be sure-”

 

“ _Dealt_ _with_?” Louis asked dryly, raising an eyebrow. 

 

“That was a poor choice of words on my part,” The man said, though un-apologetically. “I just want my mate taken care of. We’re willing to wait longer for someone else.”

 

Louis wanted to scream and kick at the absurdity. This man claimed to love his omega wife, yet he was willing to allow her to stay in pain for longer just because he was prejudice against omega doctors? What a hypocritical, disgusting human being! 

 

Something had to be done. He couldn’t go on like this, having his abilities being doubted in such a way. When taking the job, he was aware of America’s conservative ways, but he didn’t think they would be _this_ bad. 

 

After passing on the case to the other emergency room doctor that day, Dr. Payne, Louis began to form a plan in his mind. He waited until his break that afternoon, during which he took a prescription sheet and scrawled down some words onto it. Then, he took the elevator up to the second floor where the pharmacy was located. 

 

He was about to stroll up and hand his prescription over before he caught sight of an unwanted person. Dr. Styles seemed to be having a conversation with the pharmacist Nick Grimshaw. It was a well known fact that the two were friends, and with the ICU also being located on this floor, Louis should have expected that he might find the two together. 

 

Harry was the last person he wanted to see right now. He was about to sneak away and come back later, but it was too late. 

 

“Dr. Tomlinson! Is there something I can do for you?” Nick Grimshaw greeted Louis, spotting him before he could escape. Louis cursed when he saw both Grimshaw and Styles were now looking at him expectantly.

 

Louis took a deep breath, deciding that it was now or never. “As a matter of fact, yes. I have a prescription that needs to be filled.”

 

“Of course,” Nick said, holding out his hand for the prescription. Louis passed it to him, praying that the pharmacist wouldn’t say anything out loud. As Nick read what was on the paper, he frowned. 

 

“This is for you?” He asked. 

 

“Yup,” Louis confirmed, hoping to leave it at that. 

 

“Hospital policy prevents me from giving anyone something self-prescribed,” Nick informed him. “You’ll need to get a proper exam first, and then have a different qualified doctor prescribe you the blockers.”

 

Louis hadn’t been aware of that rule, and it seemed like a pretty stupid one. They were scent blockers, not some dangerous drug. He felt his face grow hot at the fact that he now had both alphas regarding him curiously. Harry then read the prescription for himself over Nick’s shoulder, much to Louis’ annoyment. 

 

“Nisozine scent blockers? Those are unnecessarily strong. Why would you need these?”

 

Louis felt the blood rushing in his ears. “I don’t think that’s any of your business, is it?”

 

“It is if you want me to approve the prescription.”

 

The omega just about choked. “W-What?”

 

Harry checked his watch and sighed. “Come to my office after your shift. I’ll give you the routine exam and we can talk more about it. Unless you want a different doctor to do it?”

 

Louis didn’t exactly want the whole hospital knowing that he had tried to get himself scent blockers, so he didn’t have much of a choice. “Fine. I get done at six, does that work?”

 

“Yeah. I’ll be waiting.”

 

The matter was closed for now, and Louis found himself heading back down to the ER with his head buzzing. What exactly had he just done? He’d acted too rashly, for one. He should have gone somewhere else outside the hospital to get the blockers. Now two people knew that he was trying to hide his scent. They probably thought he was ashamed to be an omega or something, which was far from the truth. He just...wanted a bit of a deserved advantage. How would he get credit for being a good doctor if a third of his patients refused treatment?

 

Scent blockers would allow him to treat them under their assumption that he was a beta, who were unscentable to alphas. Then, over time when his reputation as a good doctor for the hospital grew, he could go off the blockers. 

 

“It’s not even a big deal anyway,” He muttered to himself. “It’s not like I’m taking suppressants or something.”

 

Not that suppressants were a bad thing. Plenty of omegas took them to get out of an occasional heat. Louis had taken them for a week once back in school when his heat came during exams. Long term usage was looked down upon, but it was rare for an omega to take them for over a year in the first place. 

 

Part of Louis wanted to track down Niall and get advice, but he decided against it. The less people who knew about this, the better. The only problem was that Grimshaw seemed like a real gossiper. Hopefully he would keep his trap shut and nobody else would know. 

 

* * *

 

The exam wasn’t nearly as bad as Louis had been expecting. He didn’t even need to undress, and all Harry did was check his blood pressure, weight, listen to his heart, and take his temperature. The alpha hadn’t said much as he went through with his actions, finally writing something down on a piece of paper. 

 

“I’m going to give you Lacroban. It’s much less taxing on the body.”

 

Louis frowned. “But that wears off…”

 

“It only wears off to your familiars. Alphas you meet temporarily won't be able to pick up on your scent unless they’re with you for more than a week.”

 

“Yes, but-”

 

“Look, I’m not going to endorse you taking anything stronger than that. I don’t even approve of blockers in the first place. Pheromones are completely natural, especially for omegas. I don’t know what you’re trying to prove, but hiding your smell won’t solve things.”

 

“Yes it will,” Louis disagreed. “I won’t be rejected by alpha patients nearly as often, for one!” 

 

“That’s not necessarily true. I don’t know if you’ve looked in the mirror lately, but there’s no mistaking what you are.”

 

Louis stood up from his chair. “What’s _that_ supposed to mean?”

 

“Exactly what you think it means,” Harry said. “Only an idiot would mistake you for a beta.”

 

“The only idiot around here is you!” Louis told him, finally fed up. “You think you’re better than everyone here! Prancing along and butting into my cases, acting like I’m not qualified! Clearly you’re a bigoted asshole with no respect for anyone but yourself!”

 

The alpha’s eyes darkened. “Oh really, so I’m bigoted asshole for giving you scent blockers like you wanted?”

 

“I wanted Nisozine, not Lacroban!”

 

“Not only is Nisozine considered a controversial blocker due to its potential side effects, but it’s also only recommended for omegas older than fifty. You’re only twenty five. You also don’t meet the weight requirements- you’re twenty pounds too small. Nisozine would knock you right off your feet, and probably give you some killer headaches and heart palpitations to go with it.”

 

Okay, so Louis had to admit that he didn’t know all of that information about Nisozine. It was a fairly new developed drug, and all he’d known was that it was considered the strongest blocker out there. 

 

“Lacroban,” Harry continued with his voice raising, “Is recommended for young, fertile, and unmated omegas under forty. It has no known side effects and, as I mentioned earlier, keeps omegas safer by having their scent still become recognizable to long-term alpha friends and family in their lives. For a ‘ _qualified_ ’ omega doctor, you sure are pretty incompetent on omega care!”

 

Louis had never felt so vulnerable before. It was taking all of his willpower not to whine or fall to his knees and ask for forgiveness for his verbal attack. The way that Harry was talking to him, with anger but also a clear show of concern for his overall health, felt like having a discussion with a mate. It was a new feeling that had his emotions all over the place. 

 

He managed to take a deep breath, swallowing down the tremors in his voice. “Fine. I’ll take the Lacroban then.”

 

“Fine,” Harry handed him the approved prescription. 

 

Several beats of awkward silence passed. 

 

“Thank you,” Louis finally managed to say, hoping to appease his inner-omega instincts. 

 

“Of course,” Harry said tersely. “Have a good night.”

 

As soon as he had escaped from Harry’s office, Louis collapsed against a corridor wall, his heart still thumping wildly. He had never had an alpha speak to him so- so _strongly_ before. It scared him a great deal, but it also had his omega instincts screaming at him to go back and win over the alpha’s approval, to submit to him. 

 

The thought of submitting sent shivers down his spine. 

 

“Calm down Louis,” He told himself. “You didn’t suffer all the way through med-school to become overwhelmed with alpha problems.” 

 

After reading through the prescription one more time (and taking note of Harry’s unusually neat handwriting for a doctor) he eventually gained back the strength to get up and leave the hospital. 

 

He felt unusually empty inside. 

 

* * *

 

Contrary to what Harry had said, Louis wasn’t getting rejected nearly as often now that his smell was tampered down. That could mean only two things: Most of their patients were idiots, or Louis didn’t look as ‘omegaish’ as Harry thought him to be, and that was fine by him. 

 

The rest of the staff had given him some odd looks when his smell suddenly disappeared, but the only one who had actually questioned him was Niall.

 

“I miss your smell. Why would you mute it?”

 

“Well for one I can actually be a doctor now,” Louis answered, absentmindedly chewing his pen cap as he looked over a medical chart. 

 

“But doesn’t that defeat the purpose of everything?” Niall asked. “I mean, if people don’t know you’re omega, then how will omega doctors ever get credit? Nothing will move forward unless people are proved wrong.”

 

Louis frowned at his words. “I suppose so. But I want to do my job.”

 

“You _have_ been doing your job,” Niall told him. “Since you came here, the hospital has been in the newspaper twice in under a month. I hear plenty of patients talking highly of you- mostly omega ones. You’re giving us hope, you know, showing the world that you can be whatever you want to be. Eventually people will get on board with that.”

 

Louis hadn’t been aware of the change he had been making. This whole time he had been so focused on the discrimination aspect. But what if that was only a small problem to a big solution? If an omega doctor gave the other omegas around here hope, good things could arise. They might be encouraged to go to school to become a doctor, or any other such thing that they wanted to. 

 

It kind of felt like a slap to the face. Louis now understood that he didn’t need blockers as much as he thought he did. 

 

Meanwhile, there was the problem with Harry. Ever since their disagreement, the alpha hardly looked at him. That bothered Louis a lot more than it should have, which was why he felt oddly hopeful when Dr. Styles paged him for a consultation several days later. 

 

“Dr. Tomlinson,” Harry gave him a nod of acknowledgement when Louis arrived outside the designated examination room. 

 

“Dr. Styles,” Louis nodded back formally, though he found himself searching the alpha’s eyes for any sign of warmth, but he seemed to bare acknowledge him. “You called for a consultation with a patient?”

 

“Yes, that’s right. I really think you should take on this case. The patient is an eighteen year old omega who-”

 

“Is this some kind of dig at my status?” Louis interrupted rather harshly. He didn’t mean to lash out, perhaps he was letting his omega instincts get the better of him and trying to bait the alpha into paying more attention to him.  “Think you’re too good to even treat omegas now, huh?”

 

“Enough,” Harry said, his tone stern enough to have Louis obediently closing his mouth straight away. “Just read the file.”

 

Louis accepted the file when it was handed to him, and he barely even had to make it through the first few sentences before he understood. “Oh,” He said softly, at a loss for words. 

 

“Now you see where I’m coming from,” Harry said. “She’s coated with unbonded alpha pheromones, so I highly doubt she’d want an alpha doctor giving her a rape kit exam. She would be much more comfortable with you.”

 

“You’re right,” Louis agreed with shame. “I’m sorry for making assumptions.”

 

Harry didn’t say anything, and Louis found himself panicking a little. For some reason he craved the alpha’s approval more than ever before. It made no sense. Louis had always regarded himself as independent, and having the attention of an alpha had never before been a priority. 

 

“I’m also sorry for calling you a bigoted asshole,” He tacked on. “I was, er, out of line. I understand that now.”

 

The alpha was still silent, and Louis couldn’t do anything except awkwardly go into the examination room. His heart just about cracked at what he came to see. A young girl, just about Fizzy’s age, was curled up on the examination table. 

 

“Hiya love,” He said softly. “I’m Dr. Tomlinson.”

 

Her big eyes blinked wetly at him. “Hi.”

 

Louis chatted warmly with her as they went through the routine of a rape kit exam. He told her about his sisters and how Fizzy had just gotten accepted into her dream university. He talked about being new to Boston and getting lost the other weekend. He even talked about going to med school, and how strange it was to be the only omega doctor here. 

 

Her breath hitched at that news. “You’re an omega?”

 

“I sure am,” Louis confirmed. “I’m just on scent blockers right now. Not for long though.”

 

They fell back into silence for a few minutes. 

 

“I...I was thinking about going to law school,” She told him, so quietly that the doctor had to strain in order to hear her. 

 

“That’s fantastic!” Louis praised her, thankful that she was finally talking. She was still so pale and traumatized. Louis knew that this wouldn’t be the only hard part of her night. Police were still waiting for evidence and to take her statement, and the hospital psychologist was going to oversee her care after the exam. 

 

Once the exam was over, there was nothing more he could do. Louis felt the overwhelming urge to cry once the girl was brought back to a different room where her devastated parents and police officers were waiting. 

 

He wished that Niall was here right now, so that he could have someone to hug and comfort him. Unfortunately it was the omega nurse’s day off, and Louis was left to fend for himself. 

 

This marked three and a half weeks working here and he still had only one friend in the entire workplace. It was a rather depressing thought, but there wasn’t much he could do. Between working and sleeping, it was hard to get out and make friends. 

 

Maybe that was why he wanted Harry’s attention again, to take the edge off his loneliness. 

 

* * *

 

 

Louis realized that the more time went on, the more lonely he became. One did not have to be a doctor to know that omegas didn't do good on their own. They needed socialization and support. Isolation could lead to depression or something worse. That was one of the big reasons he wanted to go back home and see his family again. 

 

January was still several months away, and there was no way he could get time off before that. He woke up with this heavy thought in his heart, and already knew that the day was going to be a bad one. 

 

Things were both sullen and mellow for a good portion of the day. Dr. Payne had invited Louis and Niall to join him for lunch, which was something new. It turned out that Harry was there too, which caught Louis off guard since the alpha still wasn’t speaking to him. 

 

“Are you okay?” Niall asked him halfway through the meal. “You seem down today.”

 

“I’m fine,” Louis assured him with a glum smile that didn’t reach the eyes. “I’ve just been missing my family lately. It’s hard to adjust to the absence of six siblings.”

 

“Six?” Dr. Payne spoke up, impressed. “Damn. My two sisters are crazy enough as it is, I can only imagine having six.” 

 

The thought of their rambunctiousness made him smile. “Yeah, but they’re all great. But I can hardly find the time to speak with them all regularly. The time distance mucks things up a bit. By the time I get home the younger ones are always sleeping, which just leaves mornings or my days off.”

 

“Are they all in England?” Harry asked to Louis’ surprise. It was the first non-work related thing he’d said in days. It felt oddly relieving, being on sudden speaking terms again. 

 

“Mhm,” Louis nodded. “The clinic I worked at before here was only ten minutes away from them. Now they’re across an entire ocean.”

 

“Aw, that has to suck,” Liam said, while Niall squeezed his shoulder in sympathy. Louis only shrugged and went back to picking at his sub roll, not noticing the oddly fervent gaze from the intensivist alpha. 

 

“I’m mostly upset about not being able to see them for Christmas. Of course I’ll mail them their gifts, but it’s just not the same.”

 

“You’ll have to come to the hospital’s Christmas party,” Niall told him in excitement. “It’s a lot of fun! On Christmas eve there’s a big party with lots of food and music. All the doctors and patients come.”

 

“You’d love it,” Liam agreed. “The kids get presents from Santa, only it’s Dr. Corden who dresses up. Those who are bedridden get their gifts hand-delivered.”

 

A Christmas eve party would be fun, Louis thought to himself. It would be a welcome distraction from his birthday as well. This would be his first one without any friends or family to celebrate with in person. 

 

Lunch ended up being cut ten minutes short.There was a bus crash only a few roads down from the hospital, which meant they were getting most of the patients here. Their small emergency room would now have to house over twenty patients at one time. 

 

 **It** was the hardest that Louis had ever worked. Pretty much every available doctor in the hospital was working on the scene. All in all, there was one death, three in critical condition, and the rest with minor enough injurious to not put their lives in danger. There was still a lot of stitching, casting, and concussion evaluations. 

 

By the time things were under control,many had stayed well past their shifts, and it was definitely past the last bus run. Louis was just about to google the best cab company to use before he was interrupted. 

 

“Do you want a ride home?”

 

Louis felt his mouth drop open at Harry’s offer. He was unaware that Harry even knew he took a bus to and from work. But it was getting late and he would much rather ride with someone familiar rather than a stranger, so he found himself accepting. 

 

“Sure, but only if you want to.”

 

He followed the alpha out of the locker room once they were changed and washed. Neither really said much, but Louis blamed that on the fact that they were both pretty tired. He still couldn’t help but think that they were walking on eggshells with one another. 

 

“Did you stop taking the blockers?” Harry finally asked as they walked through the parking garage together. 

 

“Yeah,” Louis admitted, looking down at the ground. “Realized I didn’t really need them as much as I had initially thought…”

 

“Well,” Harry said as they reached his car. “It’s your choice. But I do like being able to smell you again.”

 

Louis looked back up at him then.

 

“Your smell is really comforting,” Harry continued on in admittance as he courteously opened the passenger door for the omega. “It’s unlike any other omegas’ I’ve met: Like a mixture of buttercream and vanilla, with just a hint of cinnamon.”

 

That was the most detailed description Louis had ever received about his scent. Nobody had ever been able to narrow it down like that before, it was always just ‘sweet’ like any other omega scent. 

 

“Well thanks I guess,” Louis said, getting into the passenger’s seat. “You don’t smell too bad yourself.”

 

That was an understatement. Harry had this overwhelming smell of cederwood and a cool, gentle musk that screamed sexy. 

 

“I think we both got on the wrong foot with each other,” Harry stated before he had even turned on the engine. 

 

Louis shifted, looking over in surprise. “Yeah...yeah, I s’pose we did.”

 

“I haven’t meant to offend you,” The alpha said, twisting the key in the ignition. “It’s just- you try being an alpha and watching a sweet, good hearted omega get yelled at for no reason. It puts my protective instincts into overdrive.”

 

Louis was still stuck on being called ‘sweet’ as Harry continued on. 

 

“I already know what a skilled physician you are. I was actually the deciding vote on the board of hospital directors- to hire an omega doctor.I’m not, like, prejudiced or anything. Not like some people.”

 

“I...Yeah, I know,” Louis admitted, because deep down he did know. “I’m sorry about how defensive I’ve been. I guess it’s a bit intimidating, being alone in a new country surrounded by strangers, some with very conservative views. I definitely feel like I have something to prove.”

 

“Maybe to the patients, but not to any of the staff,” Harry told him. “Everyone thinks you’re doing great.”

 

It actually really helped to hear that from Harry of all people. “Thanks. So, are we starting new then?”

 

“I’d really like to,” Harry confirmed with a nod. “Is that okay?”

 

Needless to say, it was as if a big weight had been lifted off of his shoulders when they started over. Even if Harry had initially made him nervous, Louis realized that such a thing was to be expected. Harry was a well respected, intelligent, powerful alpha. Anyone would be a fool not to be a little bit overwhelmed with nerves around him, especially when first meeting him.

 

Louis gave him his address, Harry put it into his gps, and they left the parking garage in rather good spirits. 

 

The further they got to Louis’ neighborhood, the more tense Louis noticed the alpha was getting. When the gps announced that they had arrived, he actually shut off the engine. 

 

“You...you live here?” Harry asked, and Louis was already aware of his apprehension before he’d spoken. 

 

“Yup, that’s right. It’s not as bad as it looks.”

 

It actually was. 

 

Harry audibly swallowed. “And you live here alone?”

 

“Of course,” Louis said. “Look, I’m not planning on staying here forever. The job was offered kind of suddenly, so I didn’t exactly have much time to choose a nicer place. Once I get into the routine of my job and save some money, I’m gonna move.”

 

“Let me at least walk you to your door,” Harry said, getting out of the car before Louis could stop him. 

 

He knew how bad it looked. It wasn’t encouraged to live alone if you were an unmated omega. This neighborhood was rather rough as well, so it was understandable that Harry might be a little concerned. Louis himself often felt a little uncomfortable coming home at night. So far nothing had happened, so he supposed that he was just paranoid. 

 

“How many locks does your door have?” Harry asked **,** eyebrows furrowing as he inspected the flimsy entrance. 

 

“What?” Louis asked, caught off guard by the question. “Oh, just one on the door handle.”

 

Harry was very still for a moment. 

 

“Come back to the car,” He then said after a moment of contemplation. 

 

“Get back to the- Harry, what for?”

 

“We’re going to Home Depot to get a better lock. I’ll install it tonight, I promise it won’t take long. It’s a miracle that nobody’s broken in. This is _not_ the type of neighborhood for an unbonded omega to be- just get in the car, okay?”

 

Louis had listened to Harry’s rant in a half-mesmerized, half-amused daze. The alpha looked so determined, as if he were rescuing a damsel in distress from a fire breathing dragon or something. He obediently followed Harry back to the car, his stomach fluttering when the alpha opened the door of the vehicle for him again. 

 

Now they walked through the aisles of home improvement store, and Louis had to bite his cheek to stop grinning. This was not how he had imagined his evening would go, lock-shopping with his alpha co-worker who until about an hour ago did not get along with him. 

 

Eventually Harry found the correct type of locks. “I like the golden one. Do _you_ like the golden one?”

 

“That one’s nice,” Louis nodded. “But Harry, I don’t know about this. We haven’t even asked my landlord about getting another lock. What if he gets mad about it being installed?”

 

“There are plenty of omega safety laws out there to allow this,” Harry informed him. “If something bad happened and it was discovered that your landlord forbade something that could have prevented it from happening, then he would be in big trouble. If it makes you feel any better, I’ll talk to him tomorrow.”

 

“Well, if you’re sure…”

 

“I am.”

 

On the way home they stopped at McDonald's for burgers and milkshakes, both quite hungry. Harry only took a few sips of his chocolate one before offering the rest to Louis. By the time they made it back to the apartment it was nearing eleven o’clock. 

 

“Don’t you have work tomorrow?” Louis asked as he watched Harry install the new lock, thankful that he had the next day off himself. 

 

“Yeah,” Harry answered, quite concentrated in his task. 

 

Feeling a sudden bout of courage, Louis walked over and knelt down next the the alpha, placing a tentative hand on his back. “Thanks for doing this, you really didn’t have to.”

 

“If I had known you were living here sooner, I would have done this a long time ago. My sister’s a realtor, I can have her look into some apartment openings in a much better area than this.”

 

Louis smiled. “Alright, but please do me a favor and don’t get too worried over this. I’ve been living here a good month now and nothing that bad has happened.”

 

Harry drilled the last screw into place. “Still, it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

 

The next moment was just something that sort of happened. They both stood up, and Louis decided to act. He reached out to hold the alpha’s face and pushed himself up on his tiptoes. Harry met his movements by leaning his head down and allowing their lips to meet. 

 

Kissing the alpha was like everything Louis had imagined. It was hot, wild, and tender all at the same time. It felt completely natural, like something that he was meant to do from day one. 

 

“I’ve been wanting to do that since your first day on the job,” Harry admitted when they finally broke apart, chuckling lowly. 

 

“I think I have too,” Louis agreed, giggling a bit with adrenaline. 

 

Nothing further happened. Harry gave the place one last look of apprehension before they bid each other goodnight. The alpha promised to stop by tomorrow evening after work in order to “see how the new lock was holding up.” 

 

The kiss acted as a gateway to a whole new chapter in Louis’ life. When Louis had to work next, the alpha came to pick him up. At the end of the day, he’d drop him off home and walk him to the door. It developed into a regular routine. Each time there was a little more kissing, a lot more talking, and a great more deal of understanding. 

 

* * *

 

Mr. Winston was one of Louis’ first patients the morning he next came into work. He’d cut his foot on a can lid while exploring in the dump. Apparently he’d been trying to make some sort of music video. The man was alpha, and nurse Jade had warned Louis right away that he was rude. 

 

Louis himself had been in good spirits upon arriving to work, mostly because last night Harry had taken him out to explore Boston and become more acquainted with the city. There had been so much to do and see, and they ended the night by eating dinner at a cute little Italian place. 

 

Jade had already cleaned out the cut, which was too shallow to need stitches. Louis was only going to come and inspect the cut one more time and then give the man a tetanus shot. 

 

As soon as he came into the room with the vaccine, Louis noticed Mr. Winston tensing up in his seat on the examination table. 

 

“What is this?” He asked, his tone seemingly scandalized. 

 

“It’s your tetanus shot,” Louis said to the alpha, even though he knew he was answering the wrong question. “That’s a very nasty cut, and I’m sure the can you cut it on was a bit rusty.”

 

The patient threw his hands up. “I don’t know what this country has come to. Your kind has _no_ business wearing a white coat. You should be at home raising pups, not wasting people’s valuable time and resources. You ought to be ashamed of yourself!”

 

“Ashamed?” Louis repeated. It had been awhile since he’d encountered someone this nasty. The man actually had a powerful tone, and he felt his heart beat faster as a result. 

 

“My taxes go to the healthcare of this country. I won’t have my hard work being wasted on omegas trying to act like alphas. Get out.”

 

“Is there some sort of problem?”

 

Louis felt a rush of relief at the sound of Harry’s voice, but at the same time he didn’t want the alpha to interfere, even if they were involved with one another now. That would mean that the patient would win. 

 

“Yes there is. I won’t have this omega touching me. The only place for an omega to touch an alpha is in the bedroom, not a professional setting. Whose idea was it to even hire an omega doctor?”

 

“Mine,” Harry answered evenly after a moment of eery silence. “Along with most of the other board of hospital directors. I can assure you that Dr. Tomlinson is more than qualified to work here.”

 

Mr. Winston’s mouth opened and closed like a fish’s for a moment, as if he had been expecting the alpha doctor to readily agree with him. 

 

Harry’s hand came to rest on Louis’ shoulder. His thumb rubbed a few soothing circles, as if he could feel how tense Louis felt. “If you have a problem with it, you’re welcome to leave our private hospital and go to a public one instead.”

 

“That…won’t be necessary,” The patient finally said behind clenched teeth. 

 

“Alright then. I’ll leave you in Dr. Tomlinson’s faithful hands.”

 

Harry gave Louis’ shoulder a squeeze of encouragement before exiting the curtained area. Louis had to keep the happy beam from his face as he continued on with treating Winston. He felt the alpha’s angry gaze, but refused to let himself be intimidated from it. He prodded and examined the cut, but purposefully didn’t try to be too gentle. Then, he gave him the quick vaccination. 

 

“That’s all,” Louis dismissed him. “You didn’t even need to come to the ER in the first place for a small cut like this, but getting billed so high is your choice, not mine. If you’ll excuse me, I have more important things to do.”

 

Had any of the higher ups heard him being so rude to a patient, he definitely would have been in trouble. Fortunately the only person around was Harry, who was waiting for him outside the examination area. 

 

“Was I okay?” Harry asked as soon as he saw the omega. “He was such a massive dick, I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.”

 

“You were perfect,” Louis praised him, wishing more than anything that he could kiss the alpha right now. It sucked to work with someone you were romantically involved with; because you could only look and not touch. 

 

Harry touched his cheek. “Come spend the night at my place after work?” He asked. “I’ll make tacos.”

 

“Of course,” Louis accepted the invitation. “How could I say no to tacos?” 

 

They both knew that eating tacos wouldn’t be the only thing they would do at Harry’s place. 

 

* * *

 

“Fuck!” Louis groaned, digging his nails into the sheets. “Please Harry, I can’t...Mmmph-”

 

He wailed as the alpha buried his face deeper, licking over his hole one more time before thrusting his warm tongue inside. 

 

Louis wouldn’t exactly call himself a prude, but he’s never had this sort of experience before; The most he’d ever done with an alpha was some making-out and a bit of over-the-clothes humping. He’d always had this rule about not wanting to be distracted by alphas while in school, only focusing on his studies and career-bound path. 

 

But this. Why hadn’t he ever done this before?

 

His hole was soaking wet with a combination of Harry’s spit and his own slick. He had never produced this much slick outside one of his heats before, so it was a bit startling. Then again, he’d never had an alpha manhandle him in bed and rim him before either. 

 

It was impossible to concentrate on anything other than the attention he was receiving right now. If his thoughts were more coherent, Louis might have been thinking about how absurd it was that just a week ago he hated Harry, and now the alpha was essentially tongue-fucking his ass as if it were his last meal on earth. 

 

“You taste so, so good,” Harry moaned as he pulled his face back. “God I can’t wait for you to take my knot. Fuck, you’re so wet for me baby...you’re such a good boy…”

 

Louis was dizzy with arousal, and he whined at the loss of the alpha’s tongue. He meant to move his hips back, but Harry was holding his slim waist firmly with one of his big hands. Then, out of nowhere, two fingers were thrust into his hole and he gave a low moan of surprise.  

 

That was how he came several minutes later, with two of Harry’s fingers knuckle-deep thrusting in and out of his ass. He spurted over his tummy and the bedsheets, seeing white as he cried out loudly. Tears were streaming down his face and his hips twitched with the aftershock. It felt so damn good, unlike anything that he’d ever experienced before. It was overwhelming in the best way possible. 

 

Harry, who was definitely more experienced than Louis, held out for a bit longer. Louis couldn’t see him, but he heard **the** alpha jerking himself off from behind. Suddenly he gave a low groan and Louis felt the alpha’s hot cum shoot out and onto his lower back, slowly seeping down to his bum. 

 

Then Harry was laying down next to him, and Louis burrowed himself against the alpha, eyes still wet with tears as he cried. 

 

Harry finally noticed his face and grew concerned, swiping the tears away with his thumb. “Shh, it’s okay baby. What’s wrong? Did I hurt you?”

 

“N-No,” Louis sniffled, catching Harry by the wrist and holding his cheek against his hand. “It just felt s-so good. I’ve never...I’ve never had someone do that before. I’ve never felt anything like-”

 

“Shh,” Harry shushed him again, pulling him closer. “You were so good for me. I can’t wait for your heat. If you think tonight was nice, just wait until you get to take my knot.”

 

Louis shivered at the thought of it. His heat was only a week from now. He had visions of Harry fully inside him, taking such good care of him. The possibility of never having to use a dildo and suffer by himself had him feeling like he was on top of the world. 

 

But the thought of his heat led to other thoughts too. He had visions of Harry being his, of being together for the rest of their lives. He thought of having a baby together- of letting Harry’s knot complete its purpose of having him swell with a baby- no, with babies. They could live happily ever after, and get married, and practice medicine together, and have lots of babies. 

 

“I want you,” He sighed dreamily, more asleep than awake now. 

 

“I want you too,” Harry murmured into his ear, nosing at the shell of it. Their legs were tangled together, and they were as close to one another as physically possible. “I want you forever.”

 

The last thought Louis had before drifting off was that everything was now going to change in the best way possible. 

 

* * *

 

**THREE YEARS LATER**

 

* * *

 

“But do you think he’d actually like me?”

 

“I think he’d like you if you actually talked to him.”

 

Louis and Liam watched the hospital’s newest doctor at a distance from their table in the cafeteria. His name was Dr. Zayn Malik. He specialized in neurology, and had come all the way from California to work here. At the age of twenty eight he’d already performed high standing brain surgeries and was working on finishing his second medical book. 

 

He was also an omega. 

 

“I _have_ talked to him!” Liam insisted, whispering lowly as Dr. Malik walked past them. “I told him he had really nice shoes yesterday!”

 

“Come on Liam,” Louis shook his head in fake disappointment. “That’s all you said to him? Nothing about those striking eyes, or his beautiful smile? You won’t become very memorable to him if you only compliment his shoes.”

 

“I don’t know how! I’ve never been affected like this before. Louis, this is serious!”

 

“Of course it is,” Louis rolled his eyes. “Hey, go get me another sundae.”

 

“I’m having a crisis, why can’t you get it yourself this time?”

 

“Excuse me Liam, but who's the pregnant one here?”

 

“Right,” Liam said, with such a look of panicked realization that Louis had to laugh. He was perfectly capable of walking across the cafeteria to get more ice cream, but it was funny making soft-hearted alphas like Liam trip over their feet to make sure he was accommodated for. It wasn't long before Louis picked up on his favorite scent in the world, and sure enough his mate had arrived. 

 

“Hi darling, sorry I’m late. There was a little scare with one of my patients. Thought we were going to have to intubate, but she’s pulled through for now.”

 

“That’s good she's pulled through,” Louis said, beaming as Harry kissed his cheek. “And don’t apologize. I’ve just been listening to Liam go on about his undying love for Dr. Malik for the past hour.”

 

At the mention of his name, Liam returned with a brand new bowl of chocolate ice cream topped with whipped cream and three cherries. “Here you are! The lady running the counter probably thinks I’m crazy for going up there so much.”

 

“How much ice cream have you had?” Harry asked, noting the two other empty bowls in front of his omega. 

 

“Not much, just a bowl or three.”

 

“Louis,” The alpha chided, though his tone was gentle. “You know you’re supposed to be watching your sugar intake. The obstetrician wants you to keep it moderated- too much sugar isn’t good for the baby **.** ”

 

“But Harry, the baby wanted more ice cream. It’s his favorite.” Louis reminded his mate, lowering his arms to cradle his swollen belly as he looked up at Harry and gave him his best pout. 

 

Harry’s eyes softened and he leaned down to rest a hand on the bump as well. “I know it’s his favorite. But we don’t want to spoil him too much, do we?”

 

“I guess not,” Louis agreed, though he took a big spoonful of the treat before Harry could stop him.

 

“We should really get home,” Harry noted as he checked the time. “Mum and Robinare coming early tomorrow, they want to take us out to breakfast and spend the day helping us get ready.”

 

“You’ll be there Sunday, right?” Louis asked Liam. 

 

“Of course, I wouldn’t dream of missing your baby shower.”

 

“Excellent. Hey, why don’t you ask Dr. Malik to accompany you there? It’s a good ice-breaker.”

 

“That’s not a half-bad idea,” Liam mused. 

 

“It’ll be a great time. Niall’s bringing his little nephew, and Perrie’s bringing her new girlfriend. You can meet my Mum too, she and my two oldest sisters are coming. It’ll be fun!”

 

“There’llbe some fun games and prizes too!” Harry added, having organized them himself. Louis still laughed at the thought of what the prizes would be: diapers loaded with little chocolate kisses. 

 

Harry helped Louis out of his seat and into his coat, kissing his mate’s cheek and giving his baby bump another affectionate pat. Louis preened at the attention, especially when the alpha kept a hand on his lower back as they left the hospital together. Many people, staff and patients alike, smiled at the sweet alpha and omega couple. 

 

Louis couldn’t be any more happier, because his dreams were coming true. He and Harry were mated, they practiced medicine together, and they were having a baby- the first of many. 

 

Everything had changed like Louis had predicted, in the best way possible. 

 

* * *

 

Please feel free to visit my tumblr at [trysomecats](http://trysomecats.tumblr.com) and say hello! <3 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm self-conscious about this one, please let me know what you think?
> 
> Thank for reading! <3


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